Red Cross volunteers are assisting with relief and recovery efforts in Uganda
© UGANDA RED CROSSRed Cross volunteers are assisting with relief and recovery efforts in Uganda
Five people were killed by floods in Kampala, Uganda over the weekend, among them a marine officer on a rescue mission. Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said that the body of the marine police officer, Sgt Godfrey Mwondha an officer with Uganda Police Force, was found in Mbuuya Katoongo swamp which is often used as a washing bay.

Police said that Mwondha was trying to save a person named Ssekitoleko of Biwologoma, Kira Division who was drowning. The bodies of the two were retrieved on Sunday morning in Nakawa Division in Kampala. The third person was a woman identified as Joweria Tumusiime, a resident of Zana Lufuka, who was also washed away by the raging flood waters. She worked with Nippon cleaning services. The bodies of the three were taken to city mortuary awaiting post mortem.

In a separate incident, a mother and her daughter, residents of Sembule in Rubaga Division, were electrocuted after floods made electric wires sag. "It is alleged that Naiga (the woman) was hanging clothes during the early morning downpour, her hanging lines touched live wires transmitting electricity and she was electrocuted. Her daughter who tried to save her was also electrocuted," Owoyesigyire said.

This incident comes just a few days after the country lost 26 people to floods. Lost and destroyed property left more than 6,000 people displaced due to mudslides in Bundibugyo and Bududa. The heavy rains continue to pose a big threat in the country, and the people have been urged to be on high alert and avoid areas that are flooded.

The East African nation is having its second rainy season which has reached its peak and Ugandan Meterological Authority has predicted that the rain will continue till end of December. The extreme weather has been blamed on the Indian Ocean Dipole, a climate system defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between western and eastern areas of the ocean. At the moment, the ocean around East Africa is warmer than usual, resulting in evaporation and moist air flowing inwards over the continent as rain. Scientists warn that as the ocean temperatures rise because of climate change, Indian Ocean Dipoles will become more frequent and severe.

The neighboring countries of Kenya and Tanzania have also been adversely affected the floods, with many of its citizens being displaced and dozens of others killed. The most recent country to be affected by the floods due to climatic change is South Africa, which also lost a citizen, with thousands others being displaced. The floods affected the provision of electricity which in turn affected the mining companies which were forced to stop operations.